Eating Appalachia: Rediscovering Regional American Flavors

228 Pages·2015·5.91 MB·English

by  Darrin Nordahl

19.95 (CAN $23.95)
Dozens of indigenous fruits, vegetables,
nuts, and game animals are waiting
to be rediscovered by American epicures,
and Appalachia stocks the largest pantry
with an abundance of delectable flavors.
In EatingAppalachia, Darrin Nordahl looks
at the unique foods that are native to the
region, including pawpaws, ramps, hickory
nuts, American persimmons, and elk, and
offers delicious and award-winning recipes
for each ingredient, along with sumptuous
color photographs. The twenty-three recipes
include: Pawpaw Panna Cotta, Pawpaw
Whiskey Sour, Chianti-Braised Elk Stew,
Pan-Fried Squirrel with Squirrel Gravy,
Ramp Linguine, and Wild Ginger Poached
Pears, among others. Nordahl also examines
some of the business, governmental, and
ecological issues that keep these wild, and
arguably tastier, foods from reaching our tables.
EatingAppalachia profiles local chefs,
hunters, and locavores who champion
these native ingredients and describes food
festivals-like the Pawpaw Festival in Albany,
Ohio; the Feast of the Ramson in Richwood,
West Virginia; and Elk Night at Jenny Wiley
State Park in Prestonsburg, Kentucky- that
celebrate them.
eating
Applachi
RediscoveR ing Regi onal
ameR ic a n Fl avoRs
D A r  i n n o r D A h l
Copyright © 2015 by Darrin Nordahl
All rights reserved
First edition
Published by Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
814 North Franklin Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
ISBN 978-1-61373-022-5
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nordahl, Darrin.
Eating Appalachia : rediscovering regional American flavors / by Darrin
Nordahl. — First edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61373-022-5 (trade paper)
1. Cooking—Appalachian Region. 2. Local foods—Appalachian
Region. 3. Appalachian Region--Social life and customs. I. Title.
TX715.N829 2015
641.5974—dc23
2014044853
Interior design: Sarah Olson
Photo credits: All photographs are owned by
Darrin Nordahl unless otherwise noted.
Printed in the United States of America
5 4 3 2 1
[Image 0000-01.tif]

contents
IntroductIon: AmerIcAn IngredIents 1
1. AlbAny, ohIo: WAy doWn yonder 11
Pawpaw Whiskey Sour 34
Pawpaw Chutney 35
Pawpaw Panna Cotta 37
Seared Scallops in a Pawpaw Buerre Blanc 39
Sautéed Chicken Breasts with Pawpaw Cream Sauce 42
Flat Iron Steak with Pawpaw-Tamarind Sauce 44
2. rIchWood, West VIrgInIA: FeAst oF the rAmson 47
Grilled Ramps 62
Ramp Linguine 65
Ramp ’n’ Eggs 66
3. Prestonsburg, KentucKy: restArtIng the gAme 69
Jenny Wiley Braised Elk Roast au Jus 91
Chianti-Braised Elk Stew 93
Asian Elk Chops 96
4. cAIro, West VIrgInIA: tough nuts to crAcK 99
Pan-Fried Squirrel with Squirrel Gravy 121
Euell Gibbons’s Persimmon-Hickory Nut Bread 125
American Indian Cream of Butternut Soup 127
5. cheroKee, north cArolInA:
Food by Any other nAme 129
Appalachian Wasabi Sauce 144
Sumac-ade 145
Sumac Chicken 146
Sumac-Spiced Trout with Killed Lettuce 149
Wild Ginger Poached Pears 152
6. colFAx, north cArolInA: FruIt oF the gods 155
Aunt Clara’s Persimmon Pudding 171
Persimmon-Nut Chiffon Pie 173
Watercress Salad with Roasted Persimmon Dressing 176
ePIlogue: toWArd A neW AmerIcAn cuIsIne 181
Acknowledgments 195
Selected Sources and Resources 201
Index 209
The quality of a landscape and the types of wild plants
that grow there can tell you a lot about the quality of
the food that unique piece of earth will produce.
—Tama Matsuoka Wong, Foraged Flavor
The destiny of nations depends on how
they nourish themselves.
—Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin,
The Physiology of Taste
IndIgenous: a species whose presence in a region is the
result of only natural resources and means, without any
human intervention. Synonymous with native.